Lylehaven Farm is well-known in the dairy world for breeding Holsteins

Lylehaven Farm in East Montpelier, Vermont held its last-ever cattle auction Friday, drawing hundreds of customers to examine and purchase the farm's famous Holsteins. "I got fascinated with the idea of breeding the perfect cow," said the property's owner, Jerry Rappaport.

Rappaport, a Boston philanthropist and real estate developer, has over the past 30-plus years built a reputation for beautiful Holsteins that perform in both show rings and the milking parlor. Careful attention to good breeding has earned the farm an international reputation.

"They're good quality cows," said buyer Adolf Langhout, a customer from the Netherlands. "Lylehaven is recognized in breeding as like a Mercedes or Audi."

Langhout said the animals' genetics--their frames, udders, and productivity--make them well worth the trip. He sells embryos to the European market, he explained.

Almost a decade ago, Lylehaven made global news for selling a more-than-million dollar cow known as "Lylehaven Lila Z." Most of the cows sold Friday ranged in price from several thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars. Their buyers will use them to strengthen their herds, Langhout indicated.

Rappaport, who is 87, told New England Cable News he is getting out of the business, on top, just because he said "it's time." "I have a huge amount of pleasure," Rappaport said. "[But] I'm very sad because it's an ending of an era."

Rappaport said after the animals go, the farm itself is for sale, too. He told NECN he hopes the property stays in agriculture.

Lylehaven Farm's legacy may be how the science of genetics can be applied successfully to livestock. Its final auction marked the end of one chapter in Vermont's long history of dairy excellence. "The barn is going to be empty tomorrow, but I'm going to full of memories," Rappaport told the customers and guests at his farm, who answered him with rousing applause.